Ukraine's envoy Kuchma: Russia should let OSCE SMM in Crimea

Former Ukrainian President and Ukrainian representative to the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbas in Minsk Leonid Kuchma says that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) to Ukraine should be present in Russian-occupied Crimea, but Russia obstructs the monitors' access to the peninsula, according to the news portal Krym.Realii.

Photo from UNIAN

"There is an OSCE decision that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission has the mandate to move throughout Ukraine without restrictions. We consider Crimea to be our territory and we always raise the question: listen – the OSCE mission should be there. No [is the answer]. That's it," Kuchma said at the 14th annual meeting of the Yalta European Strategy (YES), Krym.Realii reported.

As UNIAN reported earlier, the release of Ukrainian hostages and political prisoners in Russian-occupied Donbas and Russia will be on the agenda of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko's working visit to the United States where he is to take part in the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly. The visit will start on September 18 and last until September 21.

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